Tots and Pulled Pork Sandwich

This Pittsburgh classic sandwich is a culmination of Tangy Pulled Pork, epic Pittsburgh slaw and Crispy Tater Tots. It’s the perfect tailgating party food to cheer on your favorite team!

Many of you have said, “Hey Lor, we love your recipes but can you show us how to incorporate some of the stuff into other dishes?” Like for example both of my Barbacoa recipes (beef and chicken) are amazing base recipes that produce killer meats but what I didn’t give you guys were full recipes on how to use it in other dishes. Granted I may tell you to use them in barbacoa bowls, wraps, burritos or nachos which is great and all but it’s also awesome to actually see the product in other forms. Even though it’s not time to make a new year’s resolution (and considering I don’t make them anyway) I’m making a conscious effort to showcase other ways to use my recipes.

Now for my latest Pulled Pork recipe that folks went nuts over on Pinterest and social media (thank you by the way!), I did share a few ways to go beyond the bun –

Nachos covered in pulled pork and lots of cheese is one delicious, crowd-loving snack!

Those 2 recipes all stem from a single BBQ Pulled Pork recipe. That’s the beauty about many of the recipes I post. My goal is to not only make them easy and delicious but also make them so the dish can be used in a variety of ways. Now say you wanted to use one of my other pulled pork recipes on the blog (as I have a few) you can totally use those renditions on any of the other recipes where I tell you to use pulled pork.

You see growing up Mom had to find creative ways to make one huge meal that was enough to last the week but then also turn it into “new” and exciting dishes each night. She didn’t want us to feel like we were eating leftovers. I’m telling you what guys, my Mom was a GENIUS at doing this! She could make a huge pot of roast, potatoes, carrots and broth and for an entire week she would transform those cooked ingredients into completely new recipes each night. It was years before I realized we were eating “leftovers”. Now perhaps my thinking of what is a leftover is skewed. I always equated them to eating the same food you had the night before. Meaning if I had roast, potatoes and carrots on my plate last night and I ate the same thing, the same way on my plate tonight then that was a leftover.

So this sandwich is one that, honestly, I didn’t even really think about taking pictures of or even posting a recipe for as it’s nothing more than well, recipe leftovers married into a new dish. If you look at the recipe below I spare you the details of going through making the individual items from scratch as I’m going with the assumption that you already have them made, If you don’t then don’t fret as it’s a few AMAZING recipes that you will be thankful that you have on hand! To me, this is a simple dish that is very Pittsburgh-centric. Our slaw is vinegar-based and it goes on our sandwiches. Also, we put french fries on EVERYTHING. Yes, including our salads (so much for a salad being healthy, huh?!). But when I was making this leftover sandwich I went with what I had on hand which was a bag of tater tots. If you have fries go with that. If you have hash browns – use those!

That’s the beauty of this recipe as it’s one that is fairly adaptable to the ingredients you have on hands. Sure you need the pulled pork and the Pittsburgh slaw but if you didn’t have a bun, you could totally go with pita bread, naan, pizza crust, wraps or what not. See….versatility!

This sandwich is such a favorite not only in my family and friends but truly a Pittsburgh favorite. Separately each ingredient is amazing but together as a sandwich – pure delicious magic happens! If I’m being fully transparent, while I love fries on my sandwiches there’s just something special about those crispy tots guys. I think it’s the crispy texture that gives to that super tender inside. Man… my mouth is seriously watering right now! I know what I’m making for lunch tomorrow!

Ingredients

Instructions

Preheat a skillet or griddle over medium-high heat. Brush the insides of the buns with melted butter and place buttered-side down. Cook until golden brown. If desired, while the bottoms are grilling, brush the tops as well, flipping to grill the tops til golden brown.

To assemble, place the grilled bottoms cut-side up. Evenly divide the pulled pork on top. Next top with 6-8 crispy Tater Tots (go with what fits on your bun). Next top with the Pittsburgh Slaw. If desired, drizzle with warmed bbq sauce.